Ko Bulon Lae
Where to lay your head
Where to lay your head
Bulon’s best beach, by far, is School Beach, which stretches along the southeast coast and hosts the largest and priciest resorts, with one exception. Nearby Panka Noi Bay is a fine option for saving cash in a central location. A little further north, Panka Yai Bay and surrounds hosts many of the cheapest bungalows on Bulon and is only a 15-minute walk from School Beach. Note that almost every place to stay closes from around June to October.
Lipe’s main beach hosts the largest, best-equipped and most expensive resort on the island along with one cheap bungalow spot run by the schoolteachers and a few others in the flashpacker price bracket.
The small Bulon Hill Resort has a handful of simple but sturdy bungalows set on a tree-lined hill directly behind Bulone Resort and a three-minute stroll from the beach. Bungalows come in a few sizes, starting with small bamboo huts and going up to spacious wooden editions with metal roofs, including one suitable for families. They all include thick mattresses draped in mosquito nets and raised... Read our full review of Bulon Hill Resort.
Opened in 1992 and still run by the same family of native islanders, Bulone Resort is the largest, best-equipped and most comfortable resort on Ko Bulon Lae. The resort’s evolution continued in recent years with the addition of large solar panels that provide 24-hour electricity in addition to the environmental benefits. Most of the clean freestanding and fully enclosed bungalows now have... Read our full review of Bulone Resort .
Spread over a leafy hill behind the school within a two-minute walk of the best beach on Bulon, Marina’s spacious wood-and-thatch bungalows are ideal for couples who prefer the simple life. Standing on tall wooden stilts with large porches equipped with wooden chairs, tables and seashells, the log-cabin style bungalows have vaulted thatch ceilings that come all the way down to form the... Read our full review of Marina Resort.
An adorable pink school doubling as a bare-bones bungalow joint may sound strange, but it's perfectly normal on Bulon. The school sits just back from the main beach between Bulon’s two largest resorts (Pansand and Bulone) and rents out half a dozen well-worn bungalows lined up facing the shaggy soccer pitch and basketball court. Sporting bright new paint jobs for our most recent visit, the... Read our full review of School Bungalows.
Located a 10-minute walk up the lane from School Beach, Ao Panka Noi is a small and relaxing bay hosting a few quality restaurants, though the rocks and mangroves don’t make it so good for swimming. At time of writing the old Viewpoint Resort had closed for the past year, though we heard that it’s likely to reopen in the future.
Centrally located Ban Sulaida has a small collection of bungalows overlooking the cross-island lane just up the hill from Panka Noi Bay. The small huts come with light-pink siding and metal roofs, or woven bamboo walls with thatch roofs set further back along the shaggy hillside. Both go for the same reasonable price and come with front porches, hard beds propped off the floor with mosquito... Read our full review of Ban Sulaida .
Bulon’s cheapest bungalows can be scored at this soothing bay and its surrounds, including the trail to Mango Bay. Bungalows blend into a charming Chao Lae village and it’s a five-minute walk to Panka Yai’s restaurants. Expect a 15- to 20-minute walk to School Beach.
More of a family-run bungalow joint than an actual homestay programme, Chao Lae Homestay has about half a dozen simple but attractive wood-and-bamboo bungalows overlooking a shaded lawn stretching behind the bay. Sturdy and well-kept bungalows have walls made of bamboo rods, woven bamboo and cinderblocks painted brick red along with hardwood floors and metal roofs. Cold-water showers, sinks and... Read our full review of Chao Lae Homestay.
Cheap, simple and secluded is the theme at Jungle Huts, a go-to inland option for travellers on tight budgets. Halfway along the forested trail from Panka Yai Bay to Mango Bay, the huts are a great bargain so long as you don’t mind the 20-minute walk to School Beach. Facing one another in two rows with a lot of greenery in between, the bamboo bungalows with tin roofs have attached porches... Read our full review of Jungle Huts.
Long-running Panka Bay Resort had upped its game since our last visit, adding free WiFi, all-night electricity and complimentary breakfast to its fan bungalows with sea views. A row of simple white concrete bungalows with green metal roofs and plastic chairs on porches overlook a shaded lawn that opens directly to the beach. A few more rooms are set further up the hill and also afford sea... Read our full review of Panka Bay Resort.
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